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Birdhouse Tattoo recently celebrated its grand opening at 475 Bedford Road in Pleasantville. While that space has been a tattoo shop for years, owners Jamie Cassaboon and his wife Kira have done significant renovations to the shop.

Cassaboon, who also runs Big Joe and Sons in Mohegan Lake, said he jumped up at the opportunity to be able to run the tattoo shop.

"I've been an artist most of my life," Cassaboon said. "I fell into tattooing by accident. I was working in a shop in exchange for free tattoos and one thing led to another. I'm still doing it."

Cassaboon got his first tattoo when he was 15 at a tattoo shop in the Bronx, getting his initials in graffiti font on his forearm. He said he has so many tattoos that he lost count, but he said it is somewhere in the 30s.

Tattooing has exploded in popularity in recent years, as having tattoos has gained more mainstream acceptance. Cassaboon credits it to TV shows like "Ink Master." Right now, traditional black and gray tattoos are popular, and traditional American tattoos from the 1950s and 1960s are making a comeback, Cassaboon said.

Cassaboon said people are pleased with the Pleasantville shop and the artist he hired.

"Finding tattoo artists is the hardest thing," Cassaboon said. "I look for experience and I look at their portfolio. I look for artists with consistency over a period of time."

People looking to get a tattoo should look at their artist's portfolio to make sure they are the right fit for the type of tattoo they want. Cassaboon said people also shouldn't immediately go to the shop with the best price.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it's too good to be true," Cassaboon said. "You often get what you pay for."